


What Could Have Been

by Freelancer_Connie



Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Angst and Feels
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-16
Updated: 2017-07-18
Packaged: 2018-12-03 03:14:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11523354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Freelancer_Connie/pseuds/Freelancer_Connie
Summary: AU where Agent Connecticut survives Longshore Shipyard.





	1. Chapter 1

C.T.: We need to go!  
Insurrectionist Leader: I already told you, I can't leave them!  
*The Insurrectionist Leader pulls out a tomahawk.*  
C.T.: Most of them are already dead! Besides if we leave they have no reason to be here!  
*C.T. pulls a data pad out of the computer.*  
C.T.: Please, let's just go while we still can!  
*C.T. grabs the Insurrectionist Leader by the hand and turns him towards her.*

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, “You’re right. Let’s get out of here."  
They made it the escape vehicle just as Tex and Carolina breech.  
“I need to contact Control.” I.L. said finding an encrypted channel.  
Connie sank onto the floor of the transport and removed her helmet. She took out the data pad and glared at it. This little piece of technology has caused all of her problems. ‘Well’, she thought, “here’s to hoping Control can help like they promised they would.’  
“Control, this is I.L. Longshore has been compromised. We have the information.”  
Connie hands over the data pad and I.L transmits it to Control. After Control receives and reviews the information, they respond, “Return to SoC for further instruction.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Once they were docked to SoC, they were ushered into the debriefing room and left to wait. They only waited a few moments when the voice of Control come over the receiver, “At least you made it back to the ship in one piece. It is a shame I cannot say the same for your comrades. I am disappointed to hear of the loss of the shipyard. It was one of the last ports on that wretched planet. Without it we will have to move the entire operation.” Connie and I.L both look at each other knowing that there was nothing they could have done.  
“Connie, there are personnel waiting outside to show you to your quarters. I.L, I have more I wish to discuss with you.”  
Connie looked to I.L for some reassurance, “Go,” he said, “I’ll find you later.” She left the room and followed the, armed, personnel to her new living quarters.  
It was a small room but it looked comfortable. Not as comfortable as MoI, but SoC was an older ship and some parts had to be retrofitted to accommodate troop housing. There was a bunk, a small desk; more like a card table; one metal folding chair, and numerous cutouts of various sizes for storage. She removed he armor and stored it. Once she was out of her armor, she waited for I.L. It was several hours before she saw him again, and he wasn’t very happy when she did.  
“What’s wrong?” she asked trying to look him in the eye. He kept his head down as he closed the door. “I’ve been given another assignment.” He crossed the room and slumped into the chair. He looked up to meet Connie’s intense gaze. “There were coordinates in the information we… acquired, and Control wants me to follow them. They think there may something there that can bring down Project Freelancer once and for all.”  
“This is what we wanted,” Connie started excitedly, “someone who could help us…”  
“You’re not coming.” I.L cut her off. He looked back down at his boots, afraid to see the rejection cross Connie’s face. “Control has something else they want you for." “What!” Connie exclaimed, “I’m the one who brought them the info! I’m the one who stuck her neck out! I’m the one who had to go take orders from a sociopath! I’m the one…”  
“You’re the one who got my squad killed.” I.L interjected. “You’re too close to this, Connie. Control wants you to take a step back.”  
“A step back? What the fuck does that even mean?”  
“It means, you’re going on another assignment. Without me.”  
Connie looked aghast, ‘This cannot be happening. After everything I did…’ “But you promised me we’d be together. You promised we’d see this through. You promised you’d never leave.”  
I.L couldn’t take it any longer. He lunged across the small room and caught Connie by the mouth.  
He pressed his lips to hers and she surrendered. This is what she wanted. She wanted him. She had always wanted him. Yes, she may have tumbled with Wash on occasion, and maybe, maybe made out with South once. But I.L was the only one Connie ever wanted.  
She wished the moment would never end. But, just like every moment, it had to.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As the time of his departure neared; I.L lay awake wondering what was in store for him in the desert. He was still wrapped around Connie, and regretted having to let her go.  
‘How am I supposed to do this to her?’ he wondered as he tried extricating himself from the sleeping figure beside him. ‘I love her… Don’t I?’ The question he kept asking himself. The question he couldn’t answer. If he loved her, he wouldn’t have let her go to Freelancer. If he loved her, he never would have dragged her into all of this. If he loved her, he’d take her away to live a happy, normal life.  
Connie stirred beside him, and I.L. knew he had to make his move before it was too late. So making as little noise as possible, he got up, collected his clothes and Connie’s armor, and left.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Connie never saw I.L. again. She heard about his death, and was more upset about the loss of her armor.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connie has joined in the covert assault on Chorus.

“Oh, look who’s finally back from her field trip to the jungle.” Felix teased, “what did you find?’  
“It’s them alright. The Reds and Blues of Project Freelancer.” Connie replied as she removed her helmet and placed it on the table.  
“Fantastic.” Felix’s voice was dripping with sarcasm. “Now we have a bunch of morons to deal with, too. And not just any morons, either, but ‘The galaxy’s greatest heroes’.” Felix said that last few words in a mocking tone, but Connie just stared at him.  
“There’s more.” She continued. “Agent Washington is with them. And it was reported that Carolina was seen as well.”  
Felix’s sly smile vanished. “Great. You know what this means don’t you?”  
“We call Control. We are not going off script when it comes to Wash and Carolina.” Connie said with much more authority than she actually had. Felix was lead here on Chorus, but ever since they started sleeping together, he’s treated her as an equal partner.  
“Fine, I’ll call Control. But you’re gonna owe me, Short-stuff.” He walked out of the room leaving Connie with her thoughts.  
‘I knew they were still alive. I’m glad they had dodged all of the PFL trouble and actually brought it down. That’s what I was trying to do. But they fought me. They tried to stop me. We were friends. I trusted them. Why couldn’t they trust me?  
“Bad news for you, Sweet-cheeks,” Felix’s voice cut through her thoughts and startled her back into the present. “Control wants you to take a step back. They don’t want Washington or Carolina recognizing you.”  
Connie was not going to be bullied like this again. “They won’t.” She said forcefully, “They think I’m dead, remember? That cock sucker who stole my armor, died and led Washington straight to it. We’ve worked too hard and for too long for it to come crashing down now.” She held up the helmet she’d been wearing since being assigned to Chorus all those years ago, “I’ll be fine with this.” She tucked the helmet under her arm and turned for the door, “I’m going to need a voice filter.”  
“I’ll have the scientists fit you for one.” Felix said resignedly as Connie stalked out the door.  
He knew what the protocol was if she was recognized; did she?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Several weeks later; Connie was at one of the many munitions facilities they had taken from the Feds. She was going over the newest weapons development when the motion sensor was tripped in the security room. She and two other pirates race down the hall. They blow the door, and fire on the intruder. It’s only after she’s fired that Connie recognizes the thief. Carolina. She tripped into a loose maintenance hatch, nearly breaking her leg. “Fuck!” she screams through her voice filter. She’s lost track of Carolina as pain exploded from her knee. The last thing she remembered was a blow to the head.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The helmet of the last pirate rolled across the floor revealing her face. “Connie?” Carolina whispered in shock. She took a step closer just to make sure what she was seeing was real. “Carolina we have to move.” Church’s voice came through her radio, “There’s more pirates on the way.”  
With one last look at the woman she thought was dead; Carolina hit her speed boost and ran from the facility.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I gotta be honest, I don't think this is the strongest chapter. I know it needs work, but I'm not good enough yet to do my own story justice.  
> Please leave feedback and let me know what you think, good or bad.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happens when a friend comes back from the dead...?

“God fucking damn it!” Felix’s yells could be heard all around the compound. “How? How could you let this happen?” He was pacing around the briefing room while Connie sat, following Felix around the room with her head.  
“There was no way I could have known Carolina was the intruder.” Even she didn’t buy that bullshit.  
“Yes there was!” Felix was still yelling, “We knew, shortly after she left those morons, our facilities were being targeted. Neither of the armies have the balls to pull that off. AND we keep tabs on every single person on this Goddamn planet! We know where anyone is at any given moment. Except Carolina. She; with the help of her fucking AI, has always managed to stay at least three steps ahead of us.”  
Felix stopped his pacing and stared at Connie. “Control wanted me to kill you weeks ago. I told them we could handle this. But orders are orders.” He pulls his pistol and aims at Connie. She looks up at him tears in her eyes. “Felix, please.” He looks at her with the cold, hard expression of a trained killer, “You were the one who didn’t want to go off script.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wash just sat in silence. He had been quiet for so long that Carolina began to worry. “Wash? You there?” She prompted tenderly.  
“What?” He seemed startled by her presence, “Yeah, yeah, I’m still here. We need to get moving. There could be more pirates around.” He stood suddenly and started walking back toward the Reds and Blues.  
“Wash…?” Carolina started tentatively.  
“What Carolina?” Wash snapped back around and locked eyes with her. “What more could you possibly say? What more is there to say? Connie was dead, but now she’s not. Church was dead once, but now he’s not. You, yourself, were dead, but now you’re not. It’s a fucking epidemic around here!”  
Carolina was taken aback by the ferocity of the outburst.  
“Why does she get to live when so many don’t?” He asked “North, South, Maine, Wyoming,” He paused knowing this last one was going to hurt, “York.” Carolina flinched. “They’re all dead, Carolina. They’re all dead because of her. Our friends… our…our family is dead, because of her. Our home was destroyed, because of her. Because her, we’ve got nothing! So what the fuck did you want me say? Did you want me to say something like,” He adopted a mockingly high pitched tone “‘Oh my god, really? I can’t believe it!’” He glared at Carolina for a moment then continued his tirade, “Well, I can’t believe it. She should have died in that desert. She should have died at that shipyard. She should have died long before I met her. Because if I meet her again...” He trailed off letting the threat stay unspoken.  
Wash turned and pounded his way back to the others.

“Wow,” Church materialized over Carolina’s shoulder, “So, what did this Connie chick do to Wash?”  
“It’s a long story,” Carolina answered.  
“We’ve got some time before we need to figure out our next move,” Church prompted.  
“I guess you’re right.” Carolina sank onto a nearby rock and made herself comfortable.

“Connie and Wash joined Project Freelancer around the same time. They were assigned a squad with three other recruits, and soon outshone their teammates in every aspect. I can't say I knew what they were up to outside of the training room, but Wash told me that day in the desert, they started sleeping together. And not just to blow off steam. They were falling for each other. And Wash fell hard.  
Wash had a rough beginning to life. We all did. That's why we were perfect for Freelancer. However, his past was worse than most. He won't talk about it; so I don't know details, but he told me once that he would never get close to anyone. He couldn't let himself. But Connie changed that. He started dreaming of a life after Freelancer. A fresh start with Connie. Until his Recovery clearance was used to access some files that typical freelancers couldn't get their hands on.  
A formal investigation took place, and it was found that he was on assignment when the files were accessed. Wash was told to let it go; that Internal Affairs would find the culprit. But Wash followed up on his own and discover that Connie had been the one to use his credentials to steal the files.  
Wash was devastated. He thought he had finally found the one person in the universe that wasn't out to use him. He broke all ties with her. Well, as many as he could with them being on the same spaceship. It wasn’t long after that, that Connie, and the stolen files, went missing. Wash begged to be on the team to hunt her down and bring her back. But I said no. He was too emotional, too close. Besides, after the investigation, he was moved to the Recovery Unit full time. He had other obligations and responsibilities.” Carolina paused and chuckled a bit at the memory of this particular conversation, “You know,” she continued, “I actually thought he was going to hit me. He wanted so badly to be the one to find her. He's held this grudge for years. When we found her armor in the desert he was… pissed that he wasn’t the one to kill her; but also relieved. It was like I could see the weight of all that resentment lift off of him. I had hoped he would finally let himself be happy, again." Carolina finished her story and stood up from her rock stretching her stiff muscles. 

“For not knowing all the detail,” Church said pointedly, “you sure know a lot about it.”  
Carolina sighed, “Wash and I were never close during the project. He was with Connie, and I was with the leader board. But after everything that’s happened we’ve been… getting closer.” She paused wondering if she wanted to say this out loud, but then remembered she was talking to Church, “It’s hard for us to talk about what happened… especially with the guys. But we feel more comfortable around each other. Together, we can remember the good. The late night training when I got so exhausted I confused members of my team; Wash for Wyoming, North for South. All of Wyoming’s ridiculous knock-knock jokes. Even York, playing his guitar. In the rec room; the mess hall; sometimes he would sit in the hall and play for anyone who walked by.” She smiled at the memories. "Did you know that Wash had a cat on board?" Carolina asked. "No," Church replied, "I can't say I did." Carolina nodded, "I have no idea how he got it on the ship. I knew 479er would never tell. But some how, Agent Washington managed to sneak a cat on board Mother of Invention."  
She paused and her little smile disappeared. When she spoke again Church could hear the guilt in her voice, “I’m sorry if you feel excluded. I can’t even imagine what you were through, but…” “But I didn’t know them.” Church finished her thought. “I didn’t know them like you did…Like you do. I… Alpha… knew of them. Their strengths and weaknesses. Which ones worked well together; which ones didn’t. Knowing a person’s statistics doesn’t mean you know the person.”  
Carolina smiled her little smile, “If you ever want to talk…” “It’s ok, Carolina.” Church cut her off. “Come on, we better get back the guys.”  
And with that, Carolina made her way back to the others.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the "exposition chapter"!  
> This was one of my favorite things to write. I took some pieces from other head canons; like York playing the guitar, because I thought it was the perfect little piece of beauty in the ugly world the freelancers lived in.  
> I'm in love with this, but I wish I could have done a better job explaining. For example: Connie wasn't just a traitor (as she is in canon), she was a double agent from the beginning. She was sent to PFL from Charon to see what The Director was up to. She didn't leave copies for Tex; she didn't blow up at Wash; she kept her head down and waited. Once she blew her cover, "Control" reassigned her to Chorus.  
> The conversation between Carolina and Wash happened in the jungle after the Reds and Blues reunite at the Feds snow base. and before the assault on the crash sites.

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to keep this as close to canon as I could. And in order to so I had to make a few sacrifices. They will be more apparent in the future.  
> I'm still trying to come up with a title for this, so if you have any suggestions, I'm open to them.  
> And please feel free to tell me how terrible this is and how badly I suck.  
> Also, I absolutely suck at juicy scenes. Sorry.  
> 


End file.
